Relationships
by do i need a pen name
Summary: Some relationships are unique for all the right reasons…but sometimes all of the wrong ones, too. COMPLETE with a chance of additional chapters. different pairing each chapter
1. I like him, he likes her: Harry & Ginny

**A/N—Each chapter of this story (7 total) will have a different pairing, with each pairing listed in the summary. I suppose that makes this a collection of oneshots, then.**

**Disclaimer—I got the idea for this story from some random place on the internet that I will never be able to find again no matter how hard I try. The idea came from the relationship descriptions which can be found at the beginning of each chapter, although I have rewritten them here in my own words. I think.**

**Relationships**

_**The "I like him, he likes her" Relationship—when the person you love is in love with someone else.**_

Ginny Weasley had been interested in Harry Potter from the first moment she met him. Growing up in a house with six older brothers, this quiet boy who was so polite and nervous when he asked her mother how to get onto Platform 9 ¾ was an enigma. Boys _weren't_ always loud and obnoxious gits? Ginny was quite sure that she fell in love from the very beginning; it really meant very little to her later on when she found out that the dark-haired boy with glasses was _the_ Harry Potter.

She had noticed him as a person before she ever knew he was famous.

And then she actually spent time with him just before she began her own first year at Hogwarts, and her crush only intensified. Harry Potter was all sorts of wonderful, there was no other way about it.

He didn't quite feel the same way, though. Ginny knew he only saw her as Ron's little sister. And she knew that he knew that she had a crush on him; it was rather difficult for her to act like a normal human being around him, after all, no matter how hard she tried.

But Ginny was determined.

She would make sure that Harry one day felt the same way about her that she felt about him…somehow. It was going to be difficult. After all, Harry was a boy. And boys could be a bit daft about things when it came to liking girls. But one day Harry would see that Ginny was more than his best friend's little sister, she was sure of it.

And then he discovered Cho Chang.

Even without her rather (admittedly) obsessive behavior about Harry, Ginny had a keen eye for Quidditch. She saw the way Harry reacted to the older girl when Gryffindor played Ravenclaw during Harry's third year. And she also saw the way the Chang girl was so obviously flirting with Harry in midair, attempting to distract him. Harry was quickly infatuated, though Ginny thought that perhaps she was the only person besides him who saw it. However, that could have just been because she paid an unhealthy amount of attention to him.

The next year was even worse, in Ginny's opinion. Because with the new school year came the Triwizard Tournament. And with the Triwizard Tournament came the Yule Ball.

She did her best not to show it, but Ginny was elated when Harry relayed the news that Cho had turned him down. Even if it clearly showed Ginny that Harry was far from over Cho Chang, she couldn't be happier that the older girl was obviously getting along quite well with Cedric Diggory.

Then came the worst part of it all: Ron suggested that Harry take Ginny to the ball. Ron suggested that his best friend take his baby sister as a date. To the Yule Ball. It was quite possibly the best moment of Ginny's young life. Except that it wasn't. Because Ginny already had a date. Ginny couldn't help but internally curse herself for wanting to go the Ball so badly that she had been too nice to turn Neville down. And then she had cursed her idiot brother for not coming up with his beyond brilliant idea sooner, just for good measure.

Things could have been so different if Ginny had been able to go with Harry. Because, in the end, Harry Potter was still infatuated with Cho Chang, and Ginny Weasley was still just Ron's little sister.

Ginny was just about ready to give up on Harry Potter, no matter how much she fancied herself in love with the boy—_no_, he was practically a young man, now. But that didn't change the fact that he still wanted Cho and not Ginny. And so Ginny decided to follow Hermione's advice and try to become actual friends with Harry, rather than the tagalong little sister he probably viewed her as.

And being friends with Harry…well, it was _nice_. While there would always be that glimmer of hope that Harry would one day give up on Cho, Ginny attempted to move on with her life. Although he wasn't Harry, dating Michael Corner was rather nice. She was especially glad to be firmly in her own relationship when she heard from Hermione about Harry's encounter with Cho under the mistletoe after a D.A. meeting in the middle of his fifth year. And then again when she heard that the pair was apparently going to be spending Valentine's Day together. And even though Ginny was, by this point, quite happy with her own relationship, she couldn't help the feeling of glee that arose in her when she found out that things hadn't gone quite so well between Harry and Cho.

It was even greater when Marietta Edgecombe, Cho's best friend, ratted out the entire D.A. to Umbridge. It was definitely quite safe to say that Harry was now completely over the Ravenclaw seeker.

Harry still didn't seem to notice Ginny, though.

Although Ginny almost always encountered Harry and Ron together, it was only her brother who seemed to have a visible reaction to her latest boyfriend, Dean Thomas. Ginny reasoned to herself that Harry was likely just attempting to stay out of the drama that was the Weasley family interacting with each other.

Miraculously, a thought of Harry didn't even cross her mind for some time after she broke up with Dean. Harry will always be Ginny's first love, without a doubt. But she has long-since accepted that he will never feel the same, and is now living her own life for herself.

Which is why she is beyond shocked and amazed when Harry's reaction to learning that Gryffindor has won the Quidditch Cup is to kiss her. In front of the entirety of Gryffindor House. And her brother.

But Ginny couldn't have been happier. She had always loved Harry, and now she finally knew that he felt the same way about her. Finally. Having to see him obsess over Cho for all those years was worth the wait.

And even though they hadn't dated for very long at all before he breaks up with her, Ginny knows that he still loves her and only her. She can accept that he wants her to be safe as he goes off to fight evil yet again, even if she doesn't like it.

Ginny is content with having to wait for Harry once again because this time he is waiting for her as well.


	2. Everyone Knows But Them: Ron & Hermione

_**The "Everyone Knows But Them" Relationship—when two people are quite obviously in love with each other, but they are the only ones who can't see it or won't admit to it.**_

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger had not started out as friends. Most definitely not.

Ron had been raised in a wizarding family, while Hermione was muggleborn. When they first met, they had absolutely nothing in common. For example, Ron was naturally excited to finally be learning magic, but Hermione was far too overzealous in her thirst for knowledge for his taste. To put it quite simply, he thought the bushy-haired bookworm was absolutely barmy. Who honestly liked school _that_ much?

They had eventually become friends though, and how could they not? Knocking out a twelve-foot tall mountain troll really was good for creating a lasting friendship.

Ron couldn't quite pinpoint when he had first developed feelings of more than friendship for Hermione. Harry maintained that it was when Viktor Krum took her to the Yule Ball in their fourth year. Ron claimed that he just didn't think a foreign professional athlete was a good match for Hermione, and that Krum was probably trying to take advantage of her; Ron was just looking out for his friend, that was all. His reaction was totally justified.

Admittedly though, he might have over-reacted just a tad... He had been more than a bit upset to find out that Hermione had accepted Krum's request that she be his date for the evening. He really didn't think the Bulgarian Quidditch player could be trusted. Needless to say, Hermione was not amused. But when Hermione suggested that, if he was so upset, he should just ask her himself next time, Ron balked. He and Hermione were just friends. Why would he want to ask her to be his _date_ to a Ball? Except, well, maybe that _would_ be nice. Ron would never admit to anyone that Harry was correct: He had fallen for Hermione way back in their fourth year.

It took Hermione a bit longer than that to develop deeper feelings for her longtime friend. In fact, it wasn't until other girls _cough_LavenderBrown_cough_ started paying attention to Ron that she realized she was jealous. But why was she jealous? Ron had interacted with plenty of other girls before, and it had never bothered her. Granted, there hadn't even been the slightest hint of romance in those previous interactions, but the point remained. Why was she reacting in this manner?

Hermione easily accepted the fact that she appeared to have developed a crush on her friend. Ron really could be rather endearing when he wanted to be, and sometimes even when he didn't. But she knew that Ron would never feel the same way about her. After all, it had apparently taken him nearly four years to even figure out that she was a girl, which she didn't think she would ever forget, no matter how she felt about him.

So yes, Ron was dating Lavender Brown. And yes, Hermione was quite willing to admit to herself that she often wished she could switch places with Lavender. And yes, Ron would have gladly switched the two girls, as shallow as he knew that sounded. But that didn't mean that anyone else needed to know any of this.

Except for the fact that just about everyone even remotely close to the pair could see all of it as plain as day.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were without a doubt in love with each other and everyone saw it but them.

Hermione was overjoyed when she discovered that Ron and Lavender had broken up. Beyond the fact that she, herself was in love with him, she had never really thought that Lavender was really right for Ron.

But that didn't mean that Hermione was about to profess her feelings to Ron. What would be the point? Obviously he was never going to feel the same way about her. Ron would never see her as more than his bookworm friend. Really, just friends was all Hermione and Ron were ever destined to be, no matter what Ginny told her otherwise.

Ron had been beyond ecstatic when his relationship with Lavender finally ended. Having a girlfriend had been rather nice in the beginning, but with time he had come to realize that Lavender Brown was, to put it gently, absolutely nutters. He was quite glad to finally be free of her. And now that he was free, obviously the next move he would need to make would be to finally come clean to Hermione and tell her that he was in love with her, quite possibly since their fourth year. Right?

Wrong.

Naturally Hermione would never feel the same way about Ron that he felt about her. And after the way he had treated her often enough over the years, Ron could easily say that he fully deserved to have unreciprocated feelings for one of his best friends. Hermione was all sorts of wonderful and Ron just didn't deserve her.

Unless he tried really, really hard.

The book Fred and George gave Ron for his seventeenth birthday really was a godsend. Ron wouldn't muck things up with Hermione anymore than they already had been. Of course…he hadn't exactly figured a Horcrux into the equation.

And so Ron left and Harry could see how heartbroken Hermione was no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Harry had long ago figured out Ron's feelings for their bushy-haired friend, and now he had clear proof before him that Hermione felt the same way. It was really quite obvious. So when Ron finally found them again and Hermione appeared to be furious with the redhead, Harry just shrugged it off. Hermione loved Ron; she would forgive him.

Of course, that didn't necessarily mean that Harry wanted to be an eyewitness to their transition to more than just friends. But they _were_ in the middle of a war, so he supposed he couldn't be _too_ picky about it.

And when the battle was over and the war finally ended and Harry finally took the time to process things, he couldn't help but be happy for his two best friends. Finally they could see what everyone else had seen for years.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were perfect for each other.


	3. Love, Hate: Katie & Oliver

_**The "Love/Hate" Relationship—when two people fight or argue to make everyone else believe they don't have feelings for each other.**_

Katie Bell and Oliver Wood have always had an interesting relationship.

Beyond the fact that they had known each other for years, she was nothing short of devoted to him as her captain and he was quite possibly in love with her skills as a Chaser. But they also fought. Constantly.

Katie and Oliver fought about a whole range of things, from practice times to timeliness in completing homework assignments and from Quidditch teams to food choices at meals. Quite simply, Katie and Oliver liked to fight about anything and everything.

They were both completely professional on the Quidditch field and they seemed to get along with each other at other times. But sooner or later, one would always pick a fight about some mundane thing with the other. Their friends and teammates liked to call it unresolved sexual tension. They had no idea how very right they were.

Because Katie and Oliver both wanted to be more than friends. Desperately. But it just couldn't happen. For starters, he was a good three years older than her. And her Quidditch captain. A relationship just wouldn't work out for them; it wouldn't be right. And Katie and Oliver hated that. So they fought with each other. Constantly.

The fighting wasn't all bad, though. The pair quickly built up a reputation as an easy source of amusement for their housemates, and Katie and Oliver were usually more than happy to oblige by picking fights with each other. Because how else could they interact with each other if they couldn't have a closer relationship than just friends?

But then Oliver finished school. He was gone and Katie was left behind. While he might no longer be her captain, their age difference became even more pronounced now. They had always been friends though, if nothing else, and so they tried to remain in contact with each other after Oliver left.

_Tried_ being the key word.

Oliver was busy with his Quidditch training and Katie was busy with her schoolwork. They barely had time to write to each other now, let alone spend any measurable amount of time together. A relationship never would have lasted and probably would have ruined their friendship; Katie and Oliver really would have come to hate each other. So perhaps it was for the best that they never professed their true feelings for each other in the presence of others and hid their desire for a relationship for all of those years.

But then Voldemort returned and, although many doubted his continued existence, naturally Katie and Oliver both believed Harry's story and accepted the truth about Cedric Diggory's death. And even though they are not as close as they once were, each still harbors feelings for the other. The world has suddenly become a much more dangerous place. But Katie is at Hogwarts with Dumbledore, safe for the time being from any threats from the outside world. And Oliver is just a mere Quidditch player, no perceivable threat to any self-proclaimed Dark Lord or his followers. They are small comforts, but comforts nonetheless, as neither are directly in harm's way. Katie and Oliver are not together, barely even speaking anymore, but they are both safe.

Until Katie comes into contact with a cursed necklace and her life is suddenly hanging in the balance. Katie is too young to die, still has so much life left to live, so much love left to give; love that Oliver may never know. Not that Oliver is immediately aware that Katie is so close to death. They haven't even seen each other in years, after all.

Later on, Oliver can't help but be eternally grateful to the reserve beater who gave him a concussion during practice one afternoon. Because without it, he never would have ended up at St. Mungo's where, just by chance, he happens across the Weasley twins, on their way to make their weekly visit to one Katie Bell.

It is a shock to Oliver's system when he sees Katie lying there, unconscious, on the hospital bed. She looks so frail and young, never mind that it has literally been _years_ since he has seen her in person. But as soon as he does see her, all of those unresolved feelings he had for her back at school come rushing back to him. For as much as they fought at Hogwarts, Oliver Wood has always loved Katie Bell. And as she slowly recovers from her brush with death, he realizes that he never wants to risk losing her again.

Sure, she's a few years younger, but age is just a number. And she'll be done with her schooling soon, so it won't really matter then. Oliver loves Katie and he wants everyone to know. Katie can't help but concur, because she feels exactly the same way.

Now there is no need for the hate in their relationship.


	4. Friend Zone: Neville & Luna

_**The "Friend Zone" Relationship—when the person you love only sees you as a close friend and nothing more.**_

Neville Longbottom was never 'popular.' He never excelled at academics and always appeared to be a rather mediocre wizard as a result. Aside from his admittedly vast knowledge of magical plants, there really wasn't anything special about Neville. He was as normal as they come.

He never saw that as a good thing until he met Luna Lovegood at the beginning of his fifth year, on the train to Hogwarts. The fourth year Ravenclaw was so outlandishly bizarre to the extent that Neville found his own utter ordinariness quite refreshing.

But then he slowly got to actually know Luna and her otherworldliness suddenly became so much more interesting than being 'normal.'

Neville got to know Luna through D.A. meetings, which quickly became quite possibly the most important thing in Neville's life.

At a young age, Neville had lost both of this parents, something he had never quite been able to get over. Sometimes he envied Harry, whose parents were dead. Because, in Neville's opinion at least, his parents were much worse off. Alice and Frank Longbottom had been tortured into insanity; they had both survived, but as mere shadows of their former selves. They were never going to recover; they were never going to recognize that the boy who visited them so frequently was actually their only son.

It had been followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named who had tortured his parents. And now that You-Know-Who had been resurrected and his parents' torturers had escaped from prison, Neville felt that it was up to him to avenge his parents. D. A. would help him to accomplish this goal.

He had been surprised to see Luna Lovegood at that first meeting, back before they had truly become Dumbledore's Army. They had all gathered because of the idea that they needed to better know how to protect themselves from the Dark Lord and his followers. Honestly, Luna didn't strike Neville as the kind of person to care about something like that.

He really shouldn't have questioned the motives of someone who was a member of Ravenclaw House.

Because Luna cared about the D.A.'s cause, just as much as Neville. She wanted to be able to defend herself and others from the Dark Arts. And, though he may not have initially admitted it to anyone other than himself, she was rather brilliant at it.

It was quite simple to become friends with Luna after this awakening. Yes, she was still rather loony most of the time, but there was more to her than that. And Neville saw all of it.

But that isn't to say that Neville wasn't completely taken aback one day to discover that he had most definitely fallen in love with Luna Lovegood somewhere along the way. She was an enigma that he had come to cherish.

He didn't immediately make his feelings known, however. They were in the middle of a war, after all. And it was a war that he fully intended on winning for his parents and to spite the Death Eaters. He didn't have time for a romantic relationship, anyway. Not that he would know how to broach the subject, anyway. Neville Longbottom was quite positive that he didn't possess a single romantic bone in his body. That could have just been the battle fatigue talking, though.

And by halfway through his seventh year, he _was_ fatigued. Never in his life had he imagined that the war against Voldemort would be fought every second of every day…at Hogwarts. Yes, he wanted to do his part to defeat Voldemort, but Hogwarts was supposed to be _safe_. But if Hogwarts wasn't safe, maybe that meant that home _was_, at least a little bit.

So even though he would have much preferred not to be separated from her, Neville was okay with Luna going home for the Christmas holidays. There weren't Death Eaters lurking around every corner of Luna's home. She would be safer there.

She never made it that far.

Neville could only watch in horror as Death Eaters dragged Luna off the train when they were meant to be going home to celebrate—a rare thing in the midst of a war. The worst part of it was that she wasn't even being taken because of things she had done herself. They were taking her in an attempt to control her father.

But as heartbreaking as it was, Luna's imprisonment only strengthened Neville's resolve. He would do his part to end this war and get her back.

He couldn't quite believe that she was safe again until he saw her with his own eyes in the Room of Requirement in the hours preceding the Final Battle. Seeing her gave him strength, strength that carried over into battle and ultimately led to him destroying Voldemort's snake.

After the Battle finally ended, high off their victory, Neville revealed his true feelings to Luna at long last.

That high was easily brought down when Luna responded to his declaration of "I love you," with "I love you, too. You're a great friend, Neville. One of my best friends, in fact."

Obviously Luna didn't feel the same way he did, and Neville was crushed. Had he waited too long to tell her? Should he have acted on his feelings sooner? Had he assumed far too much in his (obviously mistaken) belief that she felt the same way about him that he felt about her?

Only one answer was clear: There would be no romance between Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. They were always going to be just friends.

Neville knew he shouldn't feel so crushed. He had survived the war, after all. He _was_ actually still quite young and had the rest of his life ahead of him. But this was his first love, and it just hurt so much that his love was unrequited. But he would not wallow in his own misery. Not when there were still Death Eaters on the loose. It was an easy decision to accept interim Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt's offer of a place in the Auror Department after the Final Battle, even though he hadn't gone through Auror training let alone finished his seventh year at Hogwarts or sat for his N.E.W.T's.

Rounding up rogue Death Eaters was a fulfilling assignment so soon after Voldemort's final demise. So fulfilling, in fact, that when he finally got a moment to just breathe and appreciate a wizarding world no longer at war, it didn't hurt one bit when he saw Luna again. She still loved him as a friend and that was perfectly alright with Neville.

Especially when he ran into Hannah Abbot again, not long after that, and hit it off with his former classmate. And then a few years later when Luna met a man named Rolf Scamander and eventually married him.

In the end, it was for the best that Neville and Luna had remained just friends. Because they both found someone else who really was perfect for them, and neither of them could have possibly been happier.


	5. Betrayed: Remus & Sirius

_**The "Betrayed" Relationship—when he or she turns out to be everything you thought he or she wasn't.**_

Remus Lupin did not have friends as a child. Well…he supposed he must have at one point. But he most definitely didn't after being bitten by Fenrir Greyback. Witches and wizards did not associate with werewolves, even if they _were_ otherwise innocent children. Remus Lupin couldn't help what he was; he was a victim of circumstances beyond his control.

The day he found out that he was going to be allowed to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was quite possibly the greatest day of young Remus Lupin's life. He was going to be allowed to go to _school_. He could _learn_ things there, learn magic. He could be with other _children_ his own age. He could pretend to be _normal_, and no one would ever know the difference. He could be _happy_.

When it finally happened, Remus was almost relieved. He had been waiting for the bubble to burst for so long, he was glad when it finally happened. But he never could have predicted his friends'—the first and only friends he had _ever_ had in his _entire_ life—reaction to finding out that he was a werewolf.

Quite simply, they didn't care.

In fact, as teenage boys tend to do, they actually thought it was rather cool. And then they had gone behind his back and done something that no one had ever done before in Remus' life. They found a way around his predicament. They worked hard and became illegal animagi so that Remus could have _company_ during full moons. Remus would never have to be alone again.

Marauders stuck by each other through thick and thin.

Remus loved James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. They became his pack brothers, and they were the greatest people he had ever known. Albus Dumbledore had accepted Remus into his school, but those three boys had accepted him into their lives and hadn't looked back. They liked Remus for Remus and could care less that almost every other member of wizarding society hated what Remus was on basic principle alone.

His life was far from perfect, though. One event, in particular, stood out as a moment that could have ruined everything.

Sirius—wonderful Sirius who was closer to Remus than he was to his own brother—sent Severus Snape down into the Whomping Willow when he knew very well who—or rather, _what_ was at the end of the tunnel. Remus the werewolf, who didn't have a shred of humanity in him and who would quite literally leap at the chance for the plaything Sirius had offered him.

The worst part about it was that Sirius treated it all as a joke. Remus could have seriously injured, even killed, a fellow student. He could have inflicted his greatest curse on a fellow human being. And Sirius thought it was funny.

Years later, Remus internally cursed himself for how he responded to the situation.

He forgave Sirius. It didn't happen overnight. In fact, it took Sirius' apparent ostracism from his own family to get Remus, James, or Peter, to even speak to Sirius again. Sirius no longer had a family; his three pack-brothers were all he had left. Remus thought that Sirius actually felt remorse for his actions concerning Snape and the Willow. Remus thought that Sirius deserved to be forgiven, especially with his profuse and repeated apologies.

Remus wished he had known back then that it was all a ruse.

Sirius had never deserved anyone's forgiveness. Sirius had been playing all of them all along.

And now James and Peter were both dead.

Remus truly had no idea how he accomplished all of it. Sirius had always seemed to be so adamantly against all of his family's deeply held beliefs about blood purity. He had put as much distance between himself and them as possible. He had run away from home with practically nothing, for Merlin's sake! He had joined the Order of the Phoenix straight out of school to fight the self-proclaimed Dark Lord along with the rest of the Marauders. Remus had thought that Sirius had done everything in his power to help to vanquish evil from the wizarding world.

But he had apparently been working for Voldemort all along.

Remus was truly the only Marauder left. Remus, James, and Peter had trusted Sirius with everything, but he had thrown it all away. In the end, family didn't matter to him, only power.

For his association with Voldemort, leading to Lily and James Potter's deaths, and for personally murdering thirteen innocent people, Peter among them, Sirius Black would spend the rest of his life in Azkaban prison.

Remus would never recover from this betrayal.


	6. Just Kidding: Remus & Tonks

**A/N—Do not be fooled by the apparently lighthearted name of this relationship. Writing this chapter made me cry. You have been warned.**

_**The "Just Kidding" Relationship—when two people keep breaking up and getting back together again.**_

In his youth, Remus Lupin had never spent much time dating. What was the point? It didn't matter if he really liked the girl or if she really liked him; it would never work out between him and anyone. And how could it? Remus Lupin was a werewolf, hardly boyfriend material. Being single was a life Remus had long ago settled with, because he knew it was the only life possible for him. To maintain some level of satisfaction with his life, he had to be content with what he had, what he would always have.

He had never counted on meeting Nymphadora Tonks. Or, rather, meeting her _again_.

Remus had briefly met Nymphadora—because yes, back then she _had_ actually gone by her given name—when the young girl had accompanied her mother to visit Andromeda's cousin and Remus' friend, Sirius Black. He had been rather intrigued by her Metamorphmagus skills. And who wouldn't be? Metamorphmagi were quite rare. Additionally, even as a teenage boy, he could admit that she _was_ rather adorable. But then again, that could have been simply because the child seemed to be every bit as fond of chocolate as Remus was himself.

So imagine his surprise when, nearly twenty years later, he met her again. Except Nymphadora—rather, Tonks, as she now preferred to be called—was no longer a child. She was a young woman and an Auror, to boot. But she still loved chocolate.

Sirius was the one to disillusion Remus about the midnight cups of cocoa he and Tonks often shared at Headquarters, long after the other Order members had gone to their own homes following the end of meetings. The escaped convict explained it quite simply: the young Auror was in love with the werewolf.

Remus didn't quite know how to react to this. He had known Tonks—albeit briefly—as a _child_. She was _years_ younger than him. He was a _werewolf_. What could she _possibly_ see in him?

Sirius merely shrugged and said that Remus shouldn't be so hard on himself, should let go and live a little. Remus couldn't help but be dubious. Saying those things was one thing, living by them was entirely another. She was young and had her whole life ahead of her; he was old beyond his years and ostracized by society for something he couldn't control. Nymphadora Tonks deserved better than Remus Lupin.

And so he tried to create some distance between them. He made sure to never be alone with Tonks, tried to not get assigned to the same missions as her, added hot cocoa mix and a mug to the secret chocolate stash hidden in his room at Grimmauld Place. None of it worked.

Tonks actively sought him out to the point that Remus decided that maybe at least getting to know her as a person wouldn't be so bad. He reasoned to himself that he wasn't playing with her feelings; he made sure that there was nothing remotely romantic about any gesture he made towards her. Their friendship was to be strictly platonic.

He hadn't counted on how truly bold Nymphadora Tonks could be.

Because when Tonks wanted something, she went after it. And Tonks wanted Remus, for whatever insane reason he had yet to figure out.

He pretended to be shocked the first time that Tonks confessed her feelings to him, and then he tried to let her down as gently as he could. He claimed that he was far too old for her and was secretly relieved when an emergency summons from Kingsley arrived for her before she got the chance to answer—because he knew that she would have said that his age didn't matter to her.

Remus tried to create more distance between them, and it worked, to a small extent. He did manage to never get caught alone with her after that. But Tonks hadn't gone through three rigorous years of Auror training for nothing; she could tell that he was attempting to avoid her. Unfortunately, though, she wasn't able to confront him about it immediately.

No, the next time Remus and Tonks ended up alone together was in the days following Sirius' death.

The sudden death of one of his oldest friends—the only living Marauder that he still actually considered a friend—hit Remus hard. He had long ago settled for being alone, but then Sirius had come back into his life. Sirius' somewhat miraculous innocence had given Remus the hope that he would never have to lose his friend again.

It had been a false hope.

Reality came crashing down on Remus after that. Life was short, and everyone deserved to live it the best they could in the time they had. Everyone who didn't carry a debilitating disease such as himself, that is.

He was less kind than he had been previously when he informed Tonks that a relationship between them would never work. Yes, he was still too old for her. But He. Was. A. Werewolf. Nothing would ever change that. No miracle cure would be discovered. No legislation would be passed anytime soon that would make him accepted by wizarding society. Tonks deserved better than the literally nothing Remus had to offer her, and he didn't care that she only wanted him and nothing more. He refused to budge on his position, no matter what she said or did. It was for the best.

But even Remus could see that it really wasn't.

If this was just a mere crush, as Remus had always assumed it to be, his refusal wouldn't have affected Tonks as much or as badly as it had. She wouldn't have had trouble with her Metamorphmagus abilities, wouldn't have a new Patronus, wouldn't be so worried about attacks by Greyback in particular all the time.

For reasons that Remus could not even begin to fathom, Nymphadora Tonks legitimately cared about him as more than a friend. She _wanted_ to be more than friends with him, even knowing what he was. She wanted it desperately.

And so Remus wavered.

Maybe, after all this time, a relationship wouldn't be so bad. Tonks already knew about his condition, so he wouldn't have to lie to her. And he supposed he wasn't getting any younger, especially with a war on. And so Remus gave in. Because maybe he really didn't have to be alone anymore.

But there _was_ a war going on, and their newfound relationship quickly turned into a whirlwind romance and a wedding. For a short time, Remus was even happy. Truly happy since James' and then Sirius' deaths. He should have known it was too good to last. He should have known that it didn't matter how much Tonks loved him, the rest of society never would. And so now he had doomed her to a life of ostracism as well, simply due to their association with each other.

The breaking point came when he found out that Tonks was pregnant. His _wife_ was pregnant with _his_ child. It was too much for Remus to bear.

It was one thing for Tonks to willingly subject herself to the criticism that came with being married to a werewolf, but the child was innocent. The child didn't deserve to be born into a family that would never be welcomed into their society. The child would be better off without Remus for a father.

And so he left.

It was Harry Potter—the orphaned child of his old friend—who quickly set him straight. Because even though the child was innocent, it still deserved to know it's real father. Remus might doubt himself more often than not, but he was _not_ the evil monster that society made him out to be. He would be there for his child, no matter what.

She had slapped him several times and he had had to beg severely, but Tonks had taken him back, in the end, as Remus had hoped she would. It also may have helped that he had had the foresight to pick up her favorite chocolates on his way back to her parents' house. Because, honestly, chocolate solved everything.

They had to stay in hiding at the Tonks' after that; it was the safest they could be in the middle of a war. But Remus was happy there. He had his wife, and soon he would have a son as well. It was the proudest moment of his life, the first time he held little Teddy. Naturally, he had to leave his wife again after that. But this time to share the good news about his newborn son; he was back at their side as quickly as magic would allow.

It was only a short while, though, before he got the summons. Voldemort was at Hogwarts. Harry had resurfaced. This was it. This was going to be the Final Battle. And Remus was going to do his part. For Teddy and for Dora.

He told himself that this would be the last time he ever walked away from Nymphadora Tonks. After this, they would be together forever. Nothing would take him away from her ever again.

Tonks shared his sentiment. Only she wanted their separation to cease now. And so she left her impossibly tiny miracle behind to be watched over by her mother while she went to go fight by her husband's side.

Their final separation was so very brief as they died side-by-side.

Remus and Nymphadora Lupin were together forever now. They would never be separated from each other again.


	7. If You're Lucky: Lily & James

_**The "If You're Lucky" Relationship—when the person you are in love with falls in love with you.**_

Contrary to popular belief, James Potter had not been in love with Lily Evans from the moment he first met her. Far from it, in fact.

Why would he even consider even _remotely_ liking someone who was obviously friends with someone whose life goal was apparently to be sorted into Slytherin? Yeah, no thanks. And even when they were both sorted into Gryffindor, he honestly didn't know what to make of the Evans girl. Obviously she wasn't completely crazed in the head, as James had previously thought, if the Sorting Hat believed she was a Gryffindor. But that Snape kid she was friends with was still really weird…and a Slytherin.

Eventually though, James chose to look past what he considered to be the world's most bizarre friendship. Why waste time worrying about Snivellus' friends when he could be admiring Evans' breathtaking gorgeousness?

Of course…there some positives to the friendship. For starters, Snivellus and Evans were practically inseparable, so pranking Snivellus would ensure that James spent more time with Evans. Naturally, he had failed to realize that almost all of this time together would be spent with Evans yelling at him.

James could not be deterred, though.

So yes, maybe Evans apparently hated him. And yes, that did, in fact, translate into her refusing to go out with him. But that didn't mean that she couldn't one day change her mind about him. After all, James had changed his mind about her more than once.

James hadn't been interested in Lily initially. But then he had eventually progressed to deciding that she was rather nice to look at. And somewhere along the way of obsessing over ways to get Lily to go out with him, James had realized that he had come to legitimately like her. Why else would he continue to chase after her when his friends spent countless hours telling him how hopeless his outlooks were? And once he recognized that he actually liked her as a person and more than just a pretty face, James Potter realized that he was actually starting to fall in Love with Lily Evans.

Naturally, his observation at the age of twelve that she was beyond gorgeous was still completely accurate. But as the years passed, James took more and more notice of Lily's looks simply because she didn't flaunt them the way other girls did, which made him appreciate her even more.

Additionally, one would probably think that Lily constantly berating James and his friends for all of the mischief they got into would put a damper on his attraction to her. But of course James only thought that made her more appealing. After all, no one else was quite as honest (or blunt) with him as Lily was.

And although he, himself, often did not appear to put much stock in making any kind of effort in his schoolwork, he really admired Lily for the passion she put into her own. Whereas James liked to hide in the safe confines of his four-poster bed (curtains drawn and silencing/repelling charms up, of course) until all hours of the night studying and writing essays, Lily could be seen doing her school work just about everywhere around the castle. She was smart and she wasn't afraid to show it—not that James was _afraid_, per se; he just preferred to make everything about himself look effortless.

Really, there were numerous things about Lily that attracted James to her. He really wasn't at all surprised to find himself falling for her.

She still refused to go out with him, though, and James realized that he had probably missed his chance to be with her. He had been nothing more than a thorn in her side for years. A realization made inside of his head wasn't going to change that. And beyond that, nothing he actually did was going to change her mind either, he was sure of it.

And so James gave up. He loved Lily Evans beyond reason, but getting her to see that was hopeless.

If there was one thing about Lily and James' evolving relationship over the years that truly made it unique, it was what happened when James finally gave up on Lily.

Amazingly, miraculously, _she_ fell in love with _him_.

James had loved Lily for ages, but all of his attempts to date her had been fruitless. He really couldn't understand how giving up had finally led to things working out for him. Naturally, Lily was more than happy to spell everything out for him.

"You don't act like a crazed lunatic all the time, now. It's like you're a real person; it's actually rather nice."

James was beyond caring that Lily had previously considered him a lunatic—because, honestly, she had called him much worse on multiple occasions. No, he was solely going to focus on the fact that she was falling in love with him, too.

He had never been happier.

Voldemort was swiftly gaining followers and power. And the wizarding world was slowly crumbling under the pressure. But James knew he would be able to fight on. He truly had Lily now. _They_ had each other.

Maybe love really could conquer all.

**A/N—Alas, this is the end of this lovely story, as I have used each of the seven types of relationships. However, even though this story is complete, I will not rule out posting additional chapters of these relationships with pairings I have not already used—and maybe even some pairings I have used. Below I have listed pairings I am currently contemplating writing about. Feel free to suggest pairings that you'd like to see, and I shall consider whether or not I can actually come up with a story line for them. Sadly, just know that I will be without internet for roughly the next two-ish months, as my summer job has me living in a tent for that time period, and I will thus be unable to update/post anything. You should still review, though :)**

**Love/Hate: Molly/Fleur—friendship/family**

**Love/Hate: Lily/James—romance**

**Betrayed: Sirius/Peter—friendship**


	8. Love, Hate: Molly & Fleur

_**The "Love/Hate" Relationship**_

Although she had never vocally shared her feelings with anyone but her husband, it was no secret that Molly Weasley had never liked Fleur Delacour.

If asked, Molly would certainly have no qualms about sharing the fact that she had not liked Fleur from the very first time she ever met the girl. Far from it, in fact. She had a good reason, though. You see, the first time Molly met Fleur was at Hogwarts on the morning of the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. Molly had brought her son, Bill, with to support Harry, who was as good as her son, in the final event. And Fleur was the competition.

Of course, strictly speaking, Fleur was actually only one third of the competition. And, admittedly, at the time, Molly honestly had considered Fleur to be the least of Harry's worry—a totally justified thought as the French girl _had_ ultimately finished last in the failed tournament. And no, her eventual, open dislike of the girl had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that that particular day spent at Hogwarts was the very first time that Bill ever met Fleur. Honestly, the fact that the part-Veela, French, former Triwizard champion began dating her oldest son not very long after the task had _absolutely_ nothing to do with Molly's claim of when she had begun to dislike Fleur.

Except for the fact that had _everything_ to do with it.

It wasn't that Fleur wasn't a lovely girl (which Molly was pretty certain she most likely was). And it really had almost nothing to do with the fact that Fleur was French (although British really _is_ best). It was just…Bill was her baby. Her _first_ baby. And Fleur Delacour just wasn't good enough for him.

And she was far too French.

So, although the reason why Molly disliked Fleur so much was very clear for all to see, she steadfastly maintained that any ill feelings she might have for the French girl were simply remnants from the Triwizard tournament.

It didn't really matter very much, though, when all was said and done. Because, quite frankly, Fleur didn't like Molly very much either.

Clearly there was no love lost between the pair.

If asked, Fleur would honestly say that she had definitely not noticed Molly Weasley on the morning of the third task. She was far too busy eyeing the older woman's son. Because, quite simply, the redheaded man there to support Harry Potter was the most exciting person Fleur had ever come into contact with before.

However, although she eyed him over her mother's shoulder, she never actually got the chance to speak with him. This was a tad upsetting to Fleur but, admittedly, she wasn't entirely broken up about it. There were plenty of other men in the world. Except then she got a job in London and it just so happened to be at the exact same place where the redheaded man—Bill, she finally found out his name was—worked. Apparently fate wanted Fleur and Bill to be together. Fleur honestly couldn't say that she had a problem with that.

Until she met his mother.

Fleur liked to think that she got along well enough with other people, but there was just something about Molly Weasley that was a bit too off-putting for Fleur's taste. Quite simply, she was far too English.

Although it was quite clear that neither woman could stand the other, they were never openly hostile with one another. And what would be the point? There was no need for them to like each other, and blatant hatred would just complicate things unnecessarily.

And then Bill decided to propose.

Molly did _not_ want Fleur married to her baby. Fleur did not want Molly as a mother-in-law. Now their intense dislike for each other was clear for all to see…not that there had been many doubts to begin with. And neither of them was going to back down.

And then Bill was attacked by Fenrir Greyback.

Somehow, someway, the worst possible thing happening to the one person they both loved brought the two women together. Because, honestly, for as focused as Molly and Fleur had been on how they each individually loved Bill and how much they each hated each other, they never took the time to think about the other's point of view.

Molly loved Bill. Fleur loved Bill. Bill loved them both.

Now, Molly and Fleur certainly didn't love each other and they still barely saw eye-to-eye on anything, but if the one thing they had in common was in such jeopardy, why waste time and energy hating each other? It was a tenuous start to a friendship, but a start nonetheless. And, in the end, that was really all that mattered.

After all, Bill and Fleur _were_ going to be married soon. Fleur and Molly would have years in which to become friends.


	9. Friend Zone: Rose & Scorpius

**a/n-Rose and Scorpius, at the request of themaraudersrock**

_**The "Friend Zone" Relationship with a side of the "If You're Lucky" Relationship**_

Malfoys and Weasleys were _not_ friends. It just didn't happen and that's all there was to it.

The world after the Second Wizarding World was a brand new place, however. And breaking all of the old traditions and unwritten rules was, quite frankly, _encouraged_ by a majority of society.

Which was how Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy became best friends.

Of course, they started out as enemies, as was only natural. After all, their parents had been anything but friends, so why should things be any different for them?

Except they _weren't_ their parents.

Rose would never be able to pinpoint when, exactly, she had begun considering Scorpius her friend. She knew that it was all her cousin Albus Potter's fault, though, as he had befriended the blonde boy first, so that was all that really mattered at the end of the day.

To her initial surprise, Rose _liked_ being friends with Scorpius (and Albus, too, she supposed, but she didn't really have a say in that one). They had many of the same academic interests and were therefore in most of the same classes at Hogwarts. They also supported the same Quidditch team (_not_ the Cannons, much to her father's chagrin). Additionally, they both thought Albus was positively insane but loved him anyway.

In retrospect, it was probably bonding over how insane Albus was that had led Rose and Scorpius to becoming friends. Rose really would have to thank him for that one day. After all, becoming friends with Scorpius was probably one of the best things that had happened to her in her young life.

Scorpius hated being friends with Rose.

Naturally, he hadn't always thought that. In fact, he had thought it was rather brilliant in the beginning. It was one thing that he had been befriended by Albus Potter, of all people, but then Al had gone and introduced Scorpius to his cousin, Rose Weasley. Scorpius really did think it was sheer brilliance. Imagine it, a Malfoy being friends with a Potter _and _a Weasley. Grandfather Malfoy would be beside himself with agony over how his bloodline was being soiled (though how a bloodline could possibly be soiled by merely interacting with people was truly beyond Scorpius).

As it turned out, however, he thought it was an excellent move on Scorpius' part. Scorpius couldn't help but be slightly disappointed at this reaction, but quickly got over it. He was eleven, why in the name of Merlin would he want to befriend people so that he could have political connections later in life? No, that really wouldn't do for him.

And so he made sure that Al and Rose became his _best_ friends. Because best friends simply didn't use each other like his grandfather apparently thought they should.

Scorpius liked having friends; real friends. He'd grown up as an only child, and although he had a cousin—the only daughter of his mother's only sister—she was a few years older and really didn't want anything to do with a 'little boy' like Scorpius. It was different with Al and Rose. They were all the same age and he and Al were in the same house at Hogwarts and both shared a love of Quidditch. He and Rose both had many of the same academic interests, as well as supporting the same professional Quidditch team, though her love of the sport nowhere near rivaled that of his and Al's.

And then one day he woke up and realized that he no longer wanted to be friends with Rose Weasley. Rather, he would prefer to be _more_ than friends with her.

He knew a lost cause when he saw one, though; a relationship between him and Rose would never work out. She valued their friendship too much. She wouldn't want to ruin it. And besides, she had never indicated any kind of romantic interest in Scorpius that he could see. Obviously she didn't feel the same way about him that he felt about her. He knew they were better off as friends. They really were.

It truly was a pity that Rose felt the exact same way. She didn't think Scorpius saw her as anything more than a good friend and so hid the feelings she had for him. She was increasingly grateful for his friendship because it gave her an excuse to spend time with him, and it was apparently all she could ever ask for from him.

It really would have saved each of them a lot of trouble if they had just come clean to each other and admitted their true feelings.

But Malfoys and Weasleys were both notoriously stubborn, and so Rose and Scorpius both had to suffer through the other seeing other people. Numerous other people. Some relationships fizzled out after a few dates while others lasted for months. In the end, though, none of them ever worked out. It was yet another thing to add the ever-growing list of things that Rose and Scorpius appeared determined not to see: they each ended up sabotaging their relationships in some way or another because neither ever truly wanted them to work out.

However, there was one person who noticed this pattern very quickly. Quite simply, Albus Potter thought his two best friends were quite barmy. He questioned each of them separately about it. Couldn't they see what they were doing to themselves?

Obviously not.

Which of course led to his next question. Since none of their relationships seemed to be working out, couldn't they see that there _was_ one person out there who really was perfect for them?

This left both of them flabbergasted. Neither Rose nor Scorpius had any idea what, in the name of Merlin, Al was going on about. And so he felt compelled to explain himself.

_Obviously_ the Gryffindor and the Slytherin were perfect for each other. They had been friends for years, which clearly demonstrated that they got along with each other marvelously. This was also aided by the fact that each had quite a bit in common with the other. Additionally, Al was quite glad to add in slyly, he had detected some greater attraction between the pair on multiple occasions. A romantic attraction, perhaps?

Rose and Scorpius were both quick to deny Albus' implications. They were friends. That was all. And that was all they would ever be.

Albus Potter could not easily be deterred, however.

Which was how Rose and Scorpius ended up locked in the broom closet off the Entrance Hall together just two days after they finished their N.E.W.T. exams.

Now, Albus wasn't quite as brilliant of a student as Rose and Scorpius (He had only attempted nine N.E.W.T.'s to their eleven each), but that didn't mean that he couldn't excel in some areas more than others. His brainchild on that particular June afternoon entailed a permanent sticking charm that could only be broken by a declaration of love from two people. He was convinced it would work. Because, honestly, what could possibly go wrong with that plan?

Luckily for him, nothing did. Well…except for the fact that Rose and Scorpius were stuck in the broom closet for more than twelve hours without anything to eat. But those were just minor details. Albus was only concerned with the big picture: his two best friends had finally gotten over themselves and admitted to each other that being friends just wasn't what they were cut out for.

And honestly, they should have seen it coming. They really should have. After all, Weasleys and Malfoys were _not_ meant to be friends. Rose and Scorpius were just lucky enough to see what the better alternative was to being friends. Even if it did take them a few years…

But who really cared how long it took for them to move beyond simple friendship? Now that Scorpius and Rose truly had each other, they were never going to let go.

**a/n-Although the sticking charm is something I previously used in Library Conspiracy, I feel as if I might have to write a one-shot about its use with the broom closet sometime in the foreseeable future...**


	10. If You're Lucky: Draco & Astoria

_**The "If You're Lucky" Relationship**_

Draco Malfoy had not had a very happy childhood. Granted, he had been rather spoiled and he wanted for practically nothing, but that didn't automatically translate into he was happy. In all honesty, there was just one thing he—and all children, really—wanted above all else: the love of his parents.

But his father was too busy with 'business' things. Young Draco had never been very clear on what those business things where, exactly. His father didn't have a normal job; he always seemed to be home, in fact. His business always seemed to revolve around the Ministry of Magic, however. So, as a young child, Draco had simply assumed that his father was clearly a very important Ministry man. Why else would the Minister himself be coming over for dinner or drinks every other week or so?

His mother, on the other hand, had all sorts of social engagements to focus her attention on: brunches and luncheons, tea parties and garden parties, evening galas and business dinners, just to name a few. Of course she made sure that her son was cared for (by the house elves) and was educated (by the tutors), but she just had other priorities that needed her undivided attention.

That wasn't to say that his parents completely ignored him. They didn't have their heir and then wash their hands of any involvement with him. He spent time with them…on occasion. Sometimes they even ate meals all together as a family. And he knew that his mother, at least, loved him. Why else would she have protested so strongly to his father's idea of sending him to Durmstrang? She wanted him close by because she loved him, he just knew it.

Hogwarts was better than home. At Hogwarts, Draco got to interact with kids his own age. At Hogwarts—or, at the very least, in Slytherin—Draco was _important_.

But his childhood would always come back to haunt him. It was his childhood that had ultimately jaded him as a young adult.

If it hadn't been for the beliefs instilled in him from such a young age, he never would have turned out the way he did.

He never would have joined the Death Eaters. He never would have almost lost everything fighting a war for a homicidal maniac bent on achieving immortality.

In the end, pretty much all he had left was his parents…and the house, he supposed. But it wasn't as if he ever wanted to go back there after everything he had been through under that roof.

It was a slow recovery for Draco Malfoy, but he was back to some semblance of normalcy within a few years of the war's end. It helped that he'd had his parents by his side through all of it, though. Almost impossibly, their involvement in the war had brought the Malfoy family closer together; they truly were a family, when all was said and done. Now Draco knew that his parents really did love him; that they would do anything for him. And he felt exactly the same about them.

Which was most likely how he ended up accompanying his parents to some social gathering of (mostly) pureblood Slytherins—at his mother's insistence, of course.

Draco was hesitant to re-immerse himself in the company of many of these people, but he knew that things were different now. These were no longer the purebloods of his childhood. The war had seen to that. And he had to admit to himself that he was mildly curious to see many of them again—after all, they _had_ once been his friends. He was still surprised with himself for actually being happy once he did see some of them again and actually socialized with them.

But that was nothing compared to how he felt when he saw _her_.

He had been in the midst of a conversation about something or other with Theo Nott, when Daphne Greengrass had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, at the other man's elbow. Theo was quick to greet her with a kiss on the cheek, before re-acquainting her with Draco—mostly so that he could introduce her as his fiancé. Daphne, for her part, seemed genuinely happy to see Draco. She was also swift with her own introductions, pulling another young woman up beside her.

Now, Draco liked to think that he had matured enough in the past few years so as not to be as shallow or vain as he had been throughout his years in school (and as his father still was, though the older man tried to hide it). But the girl Daphne had arrived with was, by far, the prettiest girl Draco had ever seen in his entire life. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as her.

And then he discovered that he had, in fact, known her for practically his entire life, as she was Daphne's younger sister, Astoria. She had grown up since Draco had last seen her as a fifth year at Hogwarts.

Their only contact that afternoon was that brief greeting, but Draco easily found himself mesmerized with her—and not just because of her looks.

And so, from then on, Draco made a point of going to as many social events as possible, much to his mother's delight.

To Draco's delight, Astoria was often there as well and always made a point to talk to him. Eventually, he even worked up the courage to ask her out to dinner. It was at the end of their evening together that he finally realized he had fallen in love with her when Astoria admitted to him that she had only let Daphne drag her everywhere with her in the hopes of seeing _him_ again.

She had always had a bit of a crush on him as a child, Astoria hesitantly explained to Draco after her initial announcement. It was mostly because he had always let her play Quidditch with the boys, but their time together at Hogwarts had helped as well. She knew how he came off to other Slytherins and the rest of the school, but she had seen past that. She had known what his life was really like, mostly because it had been almost exactly like her own. She had seen how he struggled with being forced to take the Dark Mark and the events that followed it. And she respected him now for how it had all turned out for him.

Faced with all of this information, Draco couldn't help but admit that he honestly hadn't noticed her like that before. Of course, he remembered her joining them in Quidditch—she had been a godsend and evened out the numbers, after all. But he had been too self-absorbed as his teenage years wore on. In the years since they had last seen each other, he really hadn't spared a thought for her until seeing her again at that first luncheon his mother had dragged him to where, upon seeing her again, he had been instantly besotted by her looks.

"Oh really?" Astoria questioned. There was an almost unreadable expression upon her face, but Draco just knew what direction her thoughts had taken after hearing his response to her admission. Draco wasn't about to break her heart, though.

"And then you said something to Millicent's younger sister as she dragged you away," Draco continued. "And I think that's when I fell in love with all of you."

Astoria merely looked at him expectantly.

"You told her…" Draco began, "And I'm pretty sure that these were your exact words. But anyway, you told her that 'the continued insistence of pureblood supremacy by our elders is the most nonsensical thing you've ever heard of.'"

"Well that's because it is," Astoria couldn't help but reply, a small grin creeping onto her face—in part because of the high falsetto voice Draco had acquired in an attempt to sound like her.

"And I couldn't help but concur," Draco informed her.

Their shared beliefs and the mutual attraction the pair felt for each other were undeniable. It really was no wonder that Draco and Astoria were married within the year.

Draco's childhood would always affect him, of that he was sure. But now he had a different aspect to focus on. He had met Astoria as a child and then found her again when they had both grown up. Falling in love with the girl who had always loved him—no matter what he did or became—was by far the best thing that had ever happened to him.

Draco Malfoy had never been happier.


	11. Betrayed: Sirius & Peter

_**The "Betrayed" Relationship**_

If asked, Sirius Black honestly couldn't say whether or not he had ever been a very trusting person. He supposed he must have been, to some extent, at some point in his life. Back in his early life—his _very_ early life—before he began questioning all of the rubbish his parents would spout off about blood purity. For certain, trust wasn't something he'd been very big on when he first started at Hogwarts. And it was for a quite simple reason, really.

Nobody trusted _him_.

The Slytherins—half of whom he was related to in some way, most likely—didn't trust him because he hadn't been sorted into their house, thus breaking a thousand year tradition for the Black family. The Gryffindors—his own house—didn't trust him because he should have been a Slytherin. The issue was a bit more grey for the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but Sirius hardly cared about them because he barely interacted with them anyway.

But Sirius was a resilient young boy. He was determined to make the best of his seven years at Hogwarts, even if it was apparently going to be without a single friend.

And then the most wonderful thing happened. Sirius made a friend. Three, actually. Each of the boys who shared his dorm wanted to be his friend. They wanted to be friends _with_ him. With Sirius, the Black who should have been in Slytherin.

He couldn't understand it. But he learned not to question it. After all, spending just a short amount of time with them showed him that they had no ulterior motives. They just wanted to be friends, plain and simple.

James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were the most loyal friends Sirius ever could have asked for.

Where the other Gryffindors looked at him with suspicion, the three other first years wanted him to help them plan pranks on their fellow Hogwarts residents. Where a majority of other students avoided him at all times and at all costs, his friends actively sought him out in the rare event that they were separated from each other. When his own family finally abandoned him, James, Remus, and Peter were there to step in and truly become his new family.

Sirius had never had it so good.

He should have known it was too good to last.

The War changed things for Sirius. Naturally, he was just as loyal of a friend as he'd always been. In fact, he would go so far as to say that he was an even better friend than he had been in school. Why else would James and Lily want him to be Harry's godfather? And then why would they ask _him_ to be their Secret Keeper?

But Sirius knew the Death Eaters would be on to him almost immediately. It was no secret how close Sirius and James were. And so he suggested that Peter take his place. It would be safer that way.

But the War had changed Peter, too. He was not as loyal of a friend as he had once been.

Sirius could not understand how he never saw Peter's betrayal coming. Except for the fact that…well, he was _Peter_. Peter had _never_ given any of the other Marauder's any reason _not_ to trust him. And then he had let them all down when it mattered most.

The part that killed Sirius the most was that no one would ever know. James and Lily were the only two, other than Sirius, to know that Peter had been their Secret Keeper. And now, thanks to Peter, they were dead. And Peter had faked his own murder, framing Sirius for that as well. That was when Sirius reached his breaking point. He knew what would happen next.

The Aurors would come and they would arrest him. They would take the stance that his war crimes were obvious for all to see. The evidence and the testimonies—should they even bother to gather any—would all point to him. They would throw him in Azkaban without a trial. They would never find the truth.

Because Sirius was innocent. He _knew_ he was innocent. He also knew that Peter was still out there somewhere.

And so Sirius waited.

Because he knew Peter. And for all that he had already pulled off, Sirius knew that Peter was no genius. He would slip up somehow…someday. And that was when Sirius would make his move.

Peter Pettigrew had committed the ultimate betrayal against the people who had counted him as family, and Sirius Black would make sure that he paid for his transgressions.


	12. Everyone Knows But Them: Sirius&Marlene

_**The "Everyone knows but them" Relationship**_

Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon met for the first time when they were both five years old. Their meeting place was the Ministry of Magic on the occasion of…well, neither had even been quite sure what the Ministry function had been for on the particular day.

Marlene and Sirius were both members of highly-respected pureblood families and, as a result, were often dragged along to Ministry functions, whether they liked it or not. With a resounding _not_ being the case most often. However, their paths had never crossed, mostly likely because Walburga Black was less-than-fond of the McKinnon family and made sure to keep her children away from theirs. But Sirius Black had always been a rather sneaky child and liked nothing better than to escape from his mother's clutches in order to wreak havoc on unsuspecting bystanders. And this was how he quite literally ran into little Marlene at that particular Ministry function when they were five.

Fun fact: prior to Sirius and Marlene's meeting, the building that housed the British Ministry of Magic had been located aboveground.

Although they were only five, the combination of Sirius and Marlene was an explosive meeting of the minds. They were a pair of born pranksters; a perfect match. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

It really wasn't a surprise to either of them when, six years down the road, they were both sorted into the same house at Hogwarts—though perhaps Sirius was a _bit_ surprised that the house was Gryffindor. Their sorting proved that they were meant to be together. Their joint pranking could continue.

With the help of their new friends, naturally.

Of course, it was these new friends that inserted the first bit of real drama (as Sirius' mum yelling at them for embarrassing her by turning the Minister's hair pink had actually been the desired outcome of that particular prank) into Sirius and Marlene's relationship.

"So, how long have the two of you been dating?" The question came from James on the second night of their first year.

"_What_?" Marlene had demanded, far too shocked to voice anything more.

"You and Sirius," James had said slowly, "How long had you been dating each other?"

"First of all, we're _eleven_," Sirius had informed his new friend. "And second of all, Mars and I are _not_ dating."

"That would be gross," Marlene had chimed in at that point.

Their friend had not been deterred, though. James Potter was rather insistent of the fact that Sirius and Marlene were, in fact, dating and were, most definitely, one day going to get married to each other. After all, they were so perfect for the each other that they were almost the same person anyway. James was so vocal about his beliefs that he easily convinced their other friends that Sirius and Marlene were actually a couple.

He just couldn't understand how they couldn't see it themselves.

Sirius and Marlene both shared the same interests, first and foremost of which were pranking and Quidditch. Indeed, the pair tried out for the Gryffindor team together in their second year and both made it—one of the fiercest pair of beaters Hogwarts had ever seen. It was almost as if they shared one mind.

And when it came to pranking…well, although Marlene may have slept through the official formation of the Marauders, it was no secret that she and Sirius were most often the evil masterminds behind the pranks attributed to the group. And what spectacular pranks they were.

They were also both quite obsessed with their hair, though, admittedly, for different reasons. Sirius was fully committed to attaining perfection when it came to _his_ hair. Marlene, on the other hand, was adamant that her bright orange curls had a mind of their own, more often than not giving her a _slightly_ crazed appearance.

Honestly, in James' opinion, they were a perfect match.

And, as the years wore on, a majority of the population at Hogwarts (the minority being Sirius' fan club) came to agree with the bespectacled boy.

Sirius and Marlene would make a lovely couple.

If only _they_ could just see it.

And since James was slowly losing hope that he would ever convince Evans to fall in love with him—let along go on a single date with him—he made it his personal mission to prove to his two friends that they were in love with each other. Generally, he liked to go about this by loudly proclaiming—in very public places with the pair in question directly beside him—for all to hear that Marlene McKinnon and Sirius Black were meant for each other.

After all, if anything could do it, this was bound to make them realize their love for each other. Right?

Wrong.

Marlene still had her boyfriends who weren't Sirius. And Sirius still dated practically every single girl at Hogwarts who wasn't Marlene.

The years continued to pass and James would most likely have given up on his crusade (thus likely leading the rest of the world to forget about it as well) were it not for three things.

The first was that he finally convinced Lily Evans to go out with him. And then she fell in love with him. And then she even married him. If Lily Evans could change her mind about James Potter, then Sirius and Marlene could admit their longstanding (hidden) feelings for each other.

The second thing was the war. Marlene and Sirius were both dedicated members of the Order of the Phoenix, and they found hard for what they believed in. With their lives so very often on the line, James was sure they'd admit their love, finally, so that their true feelings would be known in the off chance one of them didn't make it out alive—not that he wanted this to happen, of course.

The third and final thing was the James—and really, everyone who knew the pair—legitimately believed that Sirius and Marlene were really and truly in love with each other. They had known each other for more than fifteen _years_ by this point. Being the people they were, how could Marlene and Sirius not have fallen in love with each other in all that time?

And so all of Sirius and Marlene's friends held out hoping for the day that the pair would finally see what everyone else had seen years ago: they were perfect for each other.

By this time, whenever the subject of "Sirius & Marlene" would come up, the pair in question would simply smile and shake their heads. They were just friends. That was all they would _ever_ be.

Except…

The war was wearing on them, and they both wavered. They figured they'd know instantly if a relationship was going to work between them if they tried it out, and if it wasn't going to they knew they'd been friends for far too long to have a negative effect on them. What could it honestly hurt if they decided to give a relationship a go?

They would never find out.

Perhaps Marlene had been too vehement in her constant fight against Voldemort and his supporters. Perhaps she had been too much of a threat. Perhaps she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Whatever the real truth of the matter was, Marlene McKinnon gave her very last breath fighting for what she believed in, alongside the rest of her family.

And Sirius was left alone.

His oldest friend was now dead and Sirius could barely handle the heartbreak.

In the days and weeks following Marlene's death, Sirius found that the one thing constantly occupying his mind was his and Marlene's agreement, in her final days, to try dating each other. And he couldn't help but think…_had_ they really love each other like that? Could they have grown to love each other the way all of their friends insisted they already did?

Maybe they _had_ been perfect for each other. Now they would never get the chance to know.

**a/n-For what it's worth, this was going to originally have a happy ending. Then I thought, "Eh...better not." My apologies, I suppose.**


End file.
